The Orchestra

Violin

Violinist Steven Copes joined the SPCO as Concertmaster in 1998, leading the orchestra from the first chair, performing concertos old and new and joining his colleagues in chamber music. He is an enthusiastic advocate of the music of today, having given the world premiere of George Tsontakis’ Grammy-nominated Violin Concerto ...
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Associate Concertmaster of the SPCO, Ruggero Allifranchini was born into a musical household in Milan, Italy, and was raised on a diverse musical diet. As a chamber musician of diverse repertoire and styles, he is a member of Accordo, a founding member of the Borromeo Quartet and Nobilis piano trio ...
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Artistic Director and Principal Violin of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Kyu-Young Kim is one of the most versatile and accomplished musicians of his generation. His appointment as the SPCO’s Artistic Director in January 2016 marks the first time a playing member has been tapped to take the artistic ...
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Violinist Daria T. Adams has been a member of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra since 1987. Prior to joining the SPCO, she was a concerto soloist with the New American Chamber Orchestra, performing in the United States, Europe, and Scandinavia. An active recitalist and chamber musician, Adams has been a ...
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A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, violinist Eunice Kim made her solo debut at the age of seven with the Korean Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra. Called “just superb” (The New York Times) and “a born performer” (Epoch Times), she recently made her solo debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra and ...
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Nina Tso-Ning Fan is a full-time member of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. A native of Colorado, Fan began her violin studies at the age of four. She earned her bachelor’s degree in French literature from Harvard University while studying violin with James Buswell at the New England Conservatory ...
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Maureen Nelson, violin, became a full-time member of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in 2016. As former founding member and first violinist, she led the Grammy-nominated Enso String Quartet for nearly two decades, captivating audiences from major concert stages of the world, regularly concertizing throughout North America and abroad. Founded ...
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Viola

Maiya Papach is the principal violist of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. A member of the orchestra since 2008, she has made solo appearances with the SPCO in Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with concertmaster Steven Copes, solo directed Benjamin Britten’s Lachrymae and as soloist in Woolrich’s Ulysses Awakes ...Learn more

Violist Hyobi Sim began the study of viola when she was 12 years old. After three years of playing viola, she was accepted as a student at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where she studied with Roberto Diaz and received a Bachelor of Music. She was selected as ...
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Cello

American cellist Julie Albers is recognized for her superlative artistry, her charismatic and radiant performing style, and her intense musicianship. She was born into a musical family in Longmont, Colorado and began violin studies at the age of two with her mother, switching to cello at age four. Julie made ...
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Cellist Joshua Koestenbaum combines his career at The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra with active solo and chamber music performances as well as being an active private teacher. A member of the SPCO since 1980, he has appeared frequently as soloist with the Chamber Orchestra. During the 2001-02 season, Koestenbaum replaced ...
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Cellist Sarah Lewis has been a member of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra since 1998. A Saint Paul native, she started piano lessons at the MacPhail Center for the Arts at the age of three. She holds degrees from Southern Methodist University and the Juilliard School, where she studied with ...
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Double bass

Zachary Cohen, a native of the Bronx, won the position of principal bass of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in his senior year of Juilliard at the age of 22. Cohen received his Bachelor of Music from Juilliard where he studied with legendary bassist Homer Mensch. During his summers Cohen has ...
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Flute

The New York Times called Julia Bogorad-Kogan "a wonderful flutist — her playing is graceful, virtuosic, and always full of interest." Bogorad-Kogan, who became the SPCO's principal flutist at the age of 22, combines an orchestral career with regular recital and solo performances. She has performed worldwide, including at New ...
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Alicia McQuerrey joined the SPCO as a flute and piccolo player in 2001. A native of Charleston, West Virginia, McQuerrey began studying the Suzuki flute method at the age of seven with Mrs. June Warhoftig, then principal flutist with the West Virginia Symphony. Alicia earned the distinction of becoming the ...
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Oboe

Acclaimed American oboist Barbara Bishop has had a rich and varied career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral musician and teacher prior to joining The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. She has served as Assistant Teaching Professor of Oboe at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory and Associate Principal Oboe with ...
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Bassoon

Bassoonist Carole Mason Smith has been a member of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra since 1980. A frequent soloist with the SPCO, Smith has performed Vanhal’s and Deitter’s concertos for two bassoons with SPCO principal bassoonist, Chuck Ullery. During the 2001-02 season, Smith served as principal bassoon of ...
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Horn

Formerly the Principal Horn of the Richmond Symphony in Virginia since 2012, James Ferree is the newly appointed Principal Horn of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in 2018.
An Atlanta native, James began piano studies at age 6, and when singing as an 11-year-old choir boy behind the horn section ...
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Matthew Wilson joined The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra as a member starting in the 2017.18 season, after playing as a guest musician for many years. He has been Principal Horn of the Minnesota Opera Orchestra for the last 5 seasons. He recently acted as Associate Principal Horn with Minnesota ...
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Trumpet

Minnesota native Lynn Erickson has played second trumpet for The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra since 1991. She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, having earned both Master of Fine Arts and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees, and studied with Charles Schlueter, David Baldwin, Vincent Cichowicz, and Manny Laureano ...
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* Leave of absence

In addition to those listed above, we extend our deepest thanks to Alfred and Ingrid Lenz Harrison,
Bill and Hella Mears Hueg, the HRK Family, John and Karen Larsen and Philip H. and
Katherine Nason for endowing positions in the orchestra.